Improvement in machines for leathering tacks



v UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

SAMUEL LORING, OF DUXBURY, MASSACHUSETTS.

IMPRovMENT IN MACHINES FOR I EATI-IERING TAcKs.

Speciiication forming part of Letters Patent No. 34,5!0, dated February 25, 1862.

T0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, SAMUEL LORING, of Duxbury, in the county of Plymouth and State of Massachusetts, have invented a new and Improved Machine for Leathering Tacks, of which the following is afull, clear, and exact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, making partof this specifi` cation, in Which- Figure l is a plan of my machine; Fig. 2, a longitudinal section upon the line X X of Fig. 1;- Fig. 3, a transverse vertical section on the line Y Y of Fig. lj. Figs. 4, 5, and 6, details to be referred to hereinafter.

To enable others skilled in the art to understand my invention, I will proceed to desclilibe the manner in which I have carried it 011 The operating parts are secured to a foundation or bed A, from which rise the standards B, that carry the main shaft C. This shaft carries rtiiy-wheelJ andagear D, which, through the intermediate gearsEand F, comi lmunicate motion to the gear G upon the shaft H of the spiral tack-carrier I, byv means the nippers. The tacks, being poured in quantity into the receptacle K, are shaken out by the jar occasioned by the operation of the Inachine and are received by the in closed deliverin g-trou gh L. This trough is constructed in a well-known mannerof two side pieces placed at a sufficient distance apart to allow the shanks of the tacks to pass between them but to arrest the heads, and at the foot of this trough is a spring ot, which lies' at a distance from the inclined trough slightly exceeding the thickness of the heads of the tacks, the object of'which is to prevent the tacks from riding each other and to throw them into position to be separated by the spiral conveyer, the positions of the spring at the junction of the inclined trough and the spiral conveyer being such as to throw the point of the advance tack away from the one which follows it, and thus the edge of the screw-thread is more surely inserted between the two. Upon the top of this conveyer is a bar M, having a slot f through it, which is but a continuation of the opening between the two side rails of the inclined trough L. The conveyer I may be described as a deeply cut perpendicular threaded screw, and the tack thus introduced by the advancing edge of its first thread lies between two of the threads with its head supported by the bar M, by which it is prevented from being carried round by the conveyer. As the latter revolves, the tack is thus carried along to its opposite end, and here it is seized by a spring b, that presses it up against the last thread of the conveyer, the bar M being cut away at d to permit its escape from the slot f. The spring b has upon one side a pin 1, Fig. 4, which runs upon a stationary face cam g, by which the spring is forced away from the screw thread of the conveyer until just at the instant when it is passing the tack, when a step 2 in the cam permits the spring to snap in and seize the tack and carry it round one hundred and eighty degrees, and here the cam g is so formed as to press back the spring and permit the tack to fall head down into a hole t', Fig. 5, in a box h immediately beneath the conveyer. The spring-nippers P, which now convey the tack to the leathering-punch, lie directly beneath this block, the rear portion of the jaws being so enlarged or bowed out at 7c as to permit the head of the tack to drop between and below them. The nippers are now, as will presently be described, drawn back (the tack being held stationary and upright in the hole t' in the box h) until their gripping portion m has a firm hold of the tack. The nippers now begin to advance, the gate n in the block h, Fig. 5, being momentarily opened to permit the escape of the tack.

The nippers are moved back and forth as follows: The main shaft C carries a bevelwheel Q, which engages with a similar wheel R, which runs upon a short vertical stationary shaft or post S, rising from the platform or bed. To the wheel R is secured a cam T, which bears upon a roller p on a sliding plate U, to which the spring-nippers P are attach ed. The cam T isso formed as to give the required motions to the nippers, the roller p being held constantly in contact with its cam by a spring which encircles a rod N, which is connected with the plate U by a knee O.

The gate n is operated by the lever W, which is pivoted at s to the frame or bed, and is pressed in one direction so as to close the gate by the spring r. At the instant when the nippers move to carry the tack out of the box h a projection Z on the shank of the nippers strikes the lever W and opens the gate n. The nippers now advance in the direction of the arrow, Fig. 1, carrying the tack with them into the leathering-box V, where it is held for a short time with its point up until the leathering-punch descends. vThis portion of the machine is constructed and operated as follows: A plunger Z, connected with one end of the beam A2, slides up and down in vertical guides B2, attached to the frame-work. Tothe lower end of this plunger is attached the cutting and leathering punch C2, through the center of which passes the rod q. This rod is prevented from descending below the punch by a pin t, Fig. 2, which rests on the top of the punch, and is also pre.- vented from descending below a certain point with the punch by a pin c in its upper end, which rests upon a stationary rod w in the guides B2, which passes through a slot in the plunger. A spring z, the lower end of which rests upon the pin t, insures the descent of the rod q, with the punch C2, until it is arrested by the pin c coming in contact with the bar w. A clearer "D2, attached to the frame and encircling the punch, prevents the leather from being carried up by the punch as it rises. The punch C2 passes through a hole y in the top of the leathering-box V,im lnediately beneath the center of which the tack is held by the nippers. The hole y is of the exact size of the punch, so that as theV punch descends it shall first eut out the piece of leather and then force it down upon the tack, Fig. 6. After the leather is secured tothe tack the nippers are drawn back, the tack being prevented from accompanying them by the punch, which now embraces it, and by a spring-.plate u, against which the head of the tack strikes. The tack is prevented from risingwith the punch by the rod q.

Operation: The tacks are poured into the receptacle K, from which they drop into the inclined trough L, their pointspassing through the slot in the trough, as seen in Fig'. 3. On reaching the bottom of the trough the lowest one is retained by the spring a until as the cylinder I revolves the vadvancing thread of the screw passes behind it and the tack is drawn from beneath the spring.' It Ais now carried along a distance equal to the distance between two threads of the screw, each complete revolution of the cylinderl being guided longitudinally by the plate M through the slot in which it passes until it arrives at the other end ofthe cylinder. Here the advance end of the spring b passes behind it, and the next instance the pin l passes oif the step 2 and allows the spring to grasp the tack and press it up against the last thread of the screw. At this point the plate M heilig cut away, as seen at d, Fig. l, the tack is allowed to escape from the slot in this plate, and is carried round until it is directly over the hole 7.' in the box h. Here the cam gis of such a form as again to press back the spring h and release the tack, which now falls into the 'box h, the head passing through the opening The strikes) until it is received by the jaws of the' nippers. The nippers now advance with the tack, the gate n opening to permit it to leave the box, and on arriving beneath the punch C2 it stops, the cam T being suitably formed to give the required motions and rests to the nippers. An attendant now places a piece of leather on top of the leathering-box and over the hole y, and the punch C2 descending cuts out a piece of the size ofits lower end and carries it down and forces it onto the tack. The rod q being retained by the pin c striking against the bar w, the disk of leather is thus forced down hard against the head of the tack. The plunger now rises, the spring z, the lower end of which bears upon the pin t, keeping the rod from rising with the punch until the pin t strikes against the top'of the punch, as before explained. The nippers now advance with another tack, and the operation proceeds as before.

Among the advantages possessed by this machine may be enumerated the following: First, celerity of action, it being capable of operating at a very rapid rate as compared with other machines for a similar purpose;

second, the perfection of its work, the leather being always applied centrally to the tack and forced down hard against the head, and, third,

with the slotted bar M, or its equivalent, for i the purpose of separating and conveying the tacks, as set forth.

2. The spring b, in combination with the cam g for the purpose of carrying the tack round to the nippers, as set forth.

3. The box h, in combination with the nippers, operating as set forth, for the purpose described.

4. The punch C2, so constructed as to cut out the leather and force it down upon the tack, as set forth.

SAMUEL LORING.

Vitnesses:

WILLIAM THOMAS, GEoRGE RYDER.

I do not, 

